Yamaji Brewery

Yamaji Brewery (Yamaji Shuzo Yugen Kaisha) is a Japanese sake brewery located in Kinomoto-cho, Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture. It stands on the old Kinomoto post town of the Hokkoku Kaido, with its main house facing west onto that historic road. The brewery was founded in 1532 (Tenbun 1) during the Muromachi period, making it one of the oldest continuously operating sake makers in Japan. According to research by Kita Tsuneo of Kita Sangyo, among surviving Japanese sake companies it is the fourth oldest, after Sudo Honke in Ibaraki (founded before 1141), Hiraizumi Honpo in Akita (1487), and Kenbishi Shuzo in Hyogo (1505). A 2011 survey by Teikoku Databank's Shiga branch found it to be the oldest company in Shiga Prefecture. The brewery produces sake (seishu) and Kuwazake, a liqueur made using mulberry leaves. Its flagship sake brand is Hokkoku Kaido. Historically Kuwazake was made in many parts of Japan, but Yamaji Brewery is said to be the only producer still making it today. The representative is Yamaji Masa, and the proprietress (okami) is Yamaji Yuko, known by the nickname "Yukorin," a popular blogger who actively communicates information through her blog "Sake Brewery Proprietress's Struggle Diary." The toji (master brewer) is Chiba Masayuki, a Noto toji. Kinomoto was historically a center of sericulture, and mulberry trees were cultivated widely. A legend holds that around the Tenbun era (1532–1555), an ancestor of the Yamaji family received a divine oracle telling him to make sake using the mulberry in the back garden, and when he did, he produced a delicious Kuwazake. In the Keicho era (1596–1615), a story tells of an exhausted traveler who drank Kuwazake, regained his strength, and reached Kyoto. During the Edo period the main house also served as a wakihonjin (auxiliary inn) for the Kinomoto post town. In 1816, when the head of the Maeda Tosa-no-kami family stayed at Kinomoto, he praised the Kuwazake presented by Yamaji Brewery and ordered two bottles. The novelist Shimazaki Toson was fond of Yamaji Brewery's Kuwazake, and letters ordering it dated August and October 1925 survive. The main house was rebuilt in 1928; it is a two-story wooden building with a gabled roof, a 29-meter frontage and 78-meter depth, one of the largest machiya buildings in Kinomoto. Since 2011 the brewery has also sold baked goods such as Kuwazake madeleines. In June 2020, a copy of the Osaka Asahi Shimbun dated June 8, 1927, was discovered at the brewery. On February 26, 2021, the main house was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property. The brewery continues to make sake and Kuwazake, and its products are sold at department store events such as Hankyu Umeda Main Store, and have won awards at the International Wine Challenge (IWC) sake division.

Yamaji Brewery was founded in 1532 (Tenbun 1) during the Muromachi period in Kinomoto, a post town on the Hokkoku Kaido in what is now Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture. According to research by Kita Tsuneo of Kita Sangyo, among surviving Japanese sake companies it is the fourth oldest, after Sudo Honke in Ibaraki Prefecture (founded before 1141), Hiraizumi Honpo in Akita Prefecture (founded 1487), and Kenbishi Shuzo in Hyogo Prefecture (founded 1505). A 2011 survey by the Shiga branch of Teikoku Databank found Yamaji Brewery to be the oldest company in Shiga Prefecture. Kinomoto was historically a center of sericulture, and mulberry trees were cultivated throughout the area. A legend holds that around the Tenbun era (1532–1555), an ancestor of the Yamaji family received a divine oracle telling him to make sake using the mulberry in the back garden; when he did, he produced a delicious Kuwazake. In the Keicho era (1596–1615), a story tells of an exhausted traveler who drank Kuwazake, regained his strength, and reached Kyoto. In the early modern period, the Kinomoto post town suffered major fires in 1739 (Genbun 4) and 1744 (Enkyo 1), which destroyed old documents, so the brewery's history before that time is unclear. During the Edo period the main house also served as a wakihonjin (auxiliary inn) for the Kinomoto post town. In 1816 (Bunka 13), when the head of the Maeda Tosa-no-kami family stayed at Kinomoto, he praised the Kuwazake presented by Yamaji Brewery and ordered two bottles of it. In the modern era, the novelist Shimazaki Toson was fond of Yamaji Brewery's Kuwazake, and letters ordering it dated August and October 1925 survive; Toson used his own watermarked stationery to order Kuwazake. In 1928 (Showa 3) the main house was rebuilt. It is a two-story wooden building with a gabled roof (hirairi), with a zashiki wing attached to the south and a north wing to the north. At the time of rebuilding, four large glass doors were installed facing the street, with a show window beside them. The frontage is 29 meters and the depth 78 meters, making it one of the largest machiya buildings in Kinomoto. In the contemporary period, from 2011 (Heisei 23) the brewery also began selling baked goods such as Kuwazake madeleines. In June 2020 (Reiwa 2), a copy of the Osaka Asahi Shimbun dated June 8, 1927 (Showa 2), was discovered at the brewery. On February 26, 2021 (Reiwa 3), the main house of Yamaji Brewery was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property; at the same time the main house of the former Kinomoto-juku honjin (Takeuchi family residence) was also registered, and in 2019 (Reiwa 1) the main house of Tomita Shuzo had been registered. The brewery continues to produce sake and Kuwazake, and its products are sold at department store events such as Hankyu Umeda Main Store, and have won awards at the International Wine Challenge (IWC) sake division.

• 2026

  Wins silver and bronze at the International Wine Challenge sake division.

• 2023

  Releases two commemorative sake for the 490th anniversary of founding.

• 2021

  Main house registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 26.

• 2020

  A copy of the Osaka Asahi Shimbun dated June 8, 1927, is discovered at the brewery.

• 2011

  Begins selling baked goods such as Kuwazake madeleines.

• 1928

  Main house rebuilt.

• 1925

  Shimazaki Toson orders Kuwazake; letters dated August and October survive.

• 1816

  Maeda Tosa-no-kami family head praises and orders Kuwazake.

• 1744

  Another major fire in Kinomoto post town.

• 1739

  Major fire in Kinomoto post town destroys old documents.

• 1532

  Founded in Kinomoto during the Tenbun era.

A historic, family-run sake brewery emphasizing its long heritage, local Shiga terroir, and the unique traditional Kuwazake.

• Hokkoku Kaido Junmai Daiginjo Nakadori Shizuku Sake

  Flagship Junmai Daiginjo, won silver at IWC 2026.

• Hokkoku Kaido Junmai Ginjo -Kita-

  Junmai Ginjo, won bronze at IWC 2026.

• Hokkoku Kaido Junmai Sake

  Standard Junmai sake.

• Hokkoku Kaido Daiginjo

  Daiginjo sake.

• Kuwazake

  Mulberry liqueur, a traditional product unique to Yamaji Brewery.

• Kuwazake Madeleines

  Baked goods made with Kuwazake.

1. 1山路酒造 | 山路酒造有限会社 | 長浜市木之本町木之本hokkokukaidou.com
2. 2Yamaji Brewery - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3山路酒造 - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org